We measure how the world's news covered people being harmed — and the help and hope within it.
419 of its 711 stories (59%) were about people being harmed, usually 52%. Tsuen Wan accounted for 274 of Hong Kong's 419 stories about harm, carried by 290 outlets. 274 of Tsuen Wan's 274 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of arrests ran at about twice the usual rate (351 stories). Typhoon was named in 120 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual. Its coverage was about twice as angry as the world's.
153 of its 228 stories (67%) were about people being harmed, usually 31%. la Guajira accounted for 133 of Colombia's 153 stories about harm, carried by 153 outlets. Reports of people affected ran at more than ten times the usual rate (137 stories). Its coverage was about one and a half times as fearful as the world's.
187 of its 271 stories (69%) were about people being harmed, usually 61%. Khartoum accounted for 100 of Sudan's 187 stories about harm, carried by 84 outlets. Reports of people affected ran at about three times the usual rate (67 stories). Outbreaks were named in 10 of its stories about harm, about 5 times usual.
165 of its 212 stories (78%) were about people being harmed, usually 20%. Storms were named in 135 of its stories about harm, about 4 times usual. Its coverage was about twice as fearful as the world's.
136 of its 162 stories (84%) were about people being harmed, usually 31%. Storms were named in 64 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual, with landslides. Grief in its coverage rose to about twice its own usual.
50 of its 62 stories (81%) were about people being harmed, usually 33%. Reports of people killed ran at about three times the usual rate (27 stories). Its coverage was about 4 times as grief-stricken as the world's.
183 of its 374 stories (49%) were about people being harmed, usually 28%. 34 of Riyadh's 64 stories were about protests or strikes. Its coverage was about one and a half times as fearful as the world's.
58 of its 81 stories (72%) were about people being harmed, usually 47%. Gorongosa accounted for 45 of Mozambique's 58 stories about harm, carried by 44 outlets. Reports of people affected ran at about 9 times the usual rate (46 stories).
660 of its 1,109 stories (60%) were about people being harmed, usually 44%. Reports of evacuations ran at about 4 times the usual rate (6 stories). Its coverage was about twice as angry as the world's.
854 of its 1,714 stories (50%) were about people being harmed, usually 37%. 272 of Rio de Janeiro's 277 stories were about protests or strikes. Its coverage was about one and a half times as warm as the world's.
Also named far more than usual: storms in Puerto Rico (64 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); respiratory illness in Thailand (35 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); plane crash in Spain (36 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); landslides in Indonesia (47 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); road crashes in Kenya (24 of its stories, about 7 times its usual).
Stories about people being harmed, in every 100 stories, the 30 days to 26 Aug. The big dot is this day; the shaded band is a normal day (the 30 days before it). Click a day to open it. Based on 29,091 stories about harm among 139,637 counted on 26 Aug.
Barbados' news mentioned storms about 4 times as often as usual. 21 in every 100 of the day's 139,637 news stories were about people being harmed, below the usual 22. On 26 August 2018, a year earlier, the share was 24 in every 100, against 21 today. Hong Kong stood out: 59% of its news was about people being harmed, usually 52%.
Written by code from the day's numbers.
Countries with at least 50 stories that day.
Stories, not people.
The day's biggest events: attacks, accidents and disasters, people displaced, protests, outbreaks. Bigger dot: more stories. Ranked by the share of the day's outlets that reported it and how clearly it was about one thing, the same way for every place and year; the news data does not say who attacked whom, so both sides of a war appear where the news put them. Click a dot for its stories.
Of the stories about people being harmed, what part of life each was about. The mark is usual.
Stories that report it, not people: we count what reporters wrote, not what happened.
The words in the day's stories were much softer than usual. Filled dot: today. Ring: usual.
From the words reporters used across the whole day, never one story. Fear is the weakest of the four measures. How?
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